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Saving Armpit

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

When vandals deface the Harmony Point sign, the town does indeed seem to become the "arm Pit" of the region. The baseball team hasn't won a game in two seasons and the town itself is falling into disrepair. But when the new postmaster becomes the ball coach, Clay and the rest of the Terriers finally seem to stand a chance of winning a game. Until they overhear a bureaucrat from the city say that the post office will close unless the "numbers" work out.

The team begins "Operation Tennis Elbow" - a letter writing campaign designed to generate enough mail to keep the post office - and its postmaster - in town (and coaching their baseball team). And along the way, they learn the power of the pen in effecting positive changes in their community.

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  • Reviews

    • School Library Journal

      Starred review from October 1, 2011

      Gr 3-6-It's hard to keep a good attitude when your baseball team has never won a game, and, in fact, the whole town of Harmony Point has a reputation for losing. Last Halloween, vandals deleted letters from the town's name, leaving the sign to read "ARM PIT." Clay and his teammates are tired of losing and tired of the town being a joke. Things look up when a new postmaster who actually knows something about baseball arrives and takes over coaching the Terriers. They don't win their next game but they do make a double play. Then, as soon as they start to believe in themselves, they learn that Coach Blackmore may be transferred because the post office simply doesn't have enough business to justify keeping it open. Coming up with a secret letter-writing campaign to increase mail and keep Coach Blackmore, the kids request summer-camp brochures, write to the state government for information, make the Town Council aware of potholes, submit a grant for a playground, and more. Through the letter writing, the kids are able to bring about change and become aware of the power of words, and the power of organization. Examples of responses to their letters are included between chapters. This book would be a terrific read-aloud for students to learn about citizenship, community service, and collaboration. Sportsmanship and hard work, respect for coaches are also valuable lessons within the story.-Nancy Baumann, University of Missouri-Columbia, MO

      Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:4.7
  • Lexile® Measure:740
  • Interest Level:4-8(MG)
  • Text Difficulty:3-4

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